Thanksgiving Travel To Increase By More Than 11 Percent, AAA Says

STATE – According to AAA the number of Americans projected to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday will increase 11.4 percent from 2009, with approximately 42.2 million travelers taking a trip at least 50 miles away from home. Last year, 37.9 million Americans traveled during the Thanksgiving holiday. The 2010 Thanksgiving holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, Nov. 24 to Sunday, Nov. 28.

AAA Mid-Atlantic projections indicate that more than 1 million New Jersey residents will travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving this year, the first time Garden State travel has increased in five years.

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“While Americans remain cautious with household budgets and discretionary spending amidst high levels of unemployment, many are in a better financial position this Thanksgiving than a year ago,” said AAA President and CEO Robert L. Darbelnet. “This improvement, along with a strong desire to spend time with friends and family, is expected to propel a significant increase in Thanksgiving travel.”

For 2010, approximately 1,030,000 New Jersey travelers will take to the roads, rails and skies this year, AAA Mid-Atlantic says. The agency projected that just 795,000 state residents would travel 50 miles or more for Thanksgiving in 2009.

Trips by automobile are the dominant mode of transportation for holiday travel in New Jersey with 94 percent of travelers reaching their destination by driving. This is an increase of 11.8% from last Thanksgiving when 866,276 New Jerseyans reached their destination by motor vehicle.

The forecasted national double-digit increase in Thanksgiving holiday travel would signify an important upturn in travel volume for the holiday after a year of negligible growth in 2009 (0.2 percent) and two years after an historic 25.2 percent decline in travel in 2008. While the forecast for an 11.4 percent increase in Thanksgiving travel is significant, the increase in the number of travelers by 4.3 million is less than half of the volume lost from 2007 through 2009. Moreover, this year’s expected 42.2 million travelers remain almost 30 percent below the 2005 peak of 58.6 million travelers.

This year’s projected increase in holiday travel appears to be the result of modestly improved economic conditions since last year, including an increase in gross domestic product, real disposable personal income and household net worth combined with a decrease in consumer debt. While job growth has been minimal and unemployment remains high, the unemployment rate has remained stable, which is an improvement from 2008 and 2009 when job losses were mounting each quarter.

AAA has forecast an increase in travel for each of the travel holidays this year. In addition to the forecast, AAA travel agents are continuing to report strong increases in the number of travelers making advanced reservations. Hotel, car and vacation package reservations for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday are up more than 10 percent compared to last year.

AAA reminds travelers that the motor club offers a variety of trip-planning tools, including:

Free printed TourBook® guides and maps for members

The online TripTik® Travel Planner, available free to all travelers at AAA.com

With AAA Roadside iPhone app, AAA members requiring emergency road service can quickly send their location, vehicle description and specific breakdown details directly to AAA without placing a phone call.

The AAA Discounts iPhone app, which has been downloaded more than 900,000 times, uses GPS technology to identify a user’s location and displays nearby businesses that offer members AAA Show Your Card & Save® discounts. A version of the AAA Discounts app is also available for Android-platform smartphones.

With nearly 40 million travelers expected on the roads this Thanksgiving, AAA recommends motorists perform several key car care tasks at least one week prior to hitting the road to help avoid roadside breakdowns and other automotive problems during their journey. Some items that most travelers can check themselves includes tire tread, tire pressure, wiper blades and battery connections. A qualified technician should expect the car if it is due or past due for regularly scheduled maintenance.

Leisure air travel is expected to account for four percent of overall travel, with 1.62 million people flying to their destination, 3.5 percent from the 1.57 million who flew last year. Trips by other modes, including rail, bus and watercraft, will be the dominant means of travel used by two percent of all travelers.

Median spending projected to be $495; average distance traveled 816 miles
Based on a survey of traveler intentions, the average distance traveled by Americans this Thanksgiving holiday is expected to be about 816 miles, virtually the same as one year ago (815 miles). Media spending is expected to be $495, roughly the same as last year ($494). Thanksgiving travel tends to be less expensive compared to other travel holidays because of its emphasis on the Thanksgiving meal and the gathering of friends and family.

Airfares and hotel rates increase over holiday, car rental rates decrease
According to AAA’s Leisure Travel Index, airfares over Thanksgiving are expected to increase four percent from last year, with an average lowest round-trip rate of $176 for the top 40 U.S. air routes. Weekend daily car rental rates will decrease four percent to an average of $42. Hotel rates for AAA Three Diamond lodgings are expected to increase six percent from a year ago, with travelers spending an average of $136 per night, compared with $128 last year. Travelers planning to stay at AAA Two Diamond hotels can expect to pay four percent more at an average cost of $96 per night.